"Ryuji, my friend! Welcome!"

These were the first words that greeted the blond boy as the door of the Sakura household opened up to him. He immediately felt wary.

"Why do I feel like you called me over to ask for some unreasonable favour?"

"That's mean, Ryuji. It's no wonder I sense no sex appeal from you."

"I'm goin' home," he replied irritably.

"N-No, I'm just kidding! You have loads of sex appeal, Ryuji!"

"Kinda feels like you're just sayin' that. See ya."

"No, I'm sorry, come back! I really was just messing around."

Ryuji turned back to face her, eyeing her up wordlessly. Then he tapped her on the nose playfully and grinned. "I had ya goin' there, huh?"

"Huh?"

"You really thought I was gonna go home just from that. You guys've said worse ta me than that before. Which is kinda sad, actually..."

"I-I'm sorry!" Futaba bowed deeply. "I really don't mean to be mean to you, Ryuji. I just sometimes get carried away with talking to people again after so long not talking to anyone and I have no filter and-"

"'Taba, Chill."

"Huh? 'Taba'?"

"Yeah. Pretty cute nickname, don'tcha think?"

"Taba, huh? I actually kinda like that. Please continue to use that name in private."

"You make it sound like a pet name from your boyfriend."

"You have no tact, Ryuji."

"And that just makes it sound like I was more right than I realised," he sighed.

"You should really stop trying to act like Ren. Only he can pull off the suave teasing routine."

"You really think I was acting like Ren?"

Futaba sighed.

Once the two were inside her room, Ryuji closed the door and sat on the bed, while Futaba took her usual seat at her computer.

"So, what'd you invite me over for? You wanna watch anime or somethin'?"

"Later. But right now, I've got this cool new game I wanna play."

"Oh, yeah? Is it that new RPG that just came out?"

"Nope. I imported this new fighting game from oversees. See?" Futaba held out the box for the game. Not only was the title in what Ryuji was sure was English, but even the age rating on box was something he had never seen before: 'M'.

"Huh? Why? Couldn't ya just've waited an' bought it in Akiba or somethin'?"

"They don't release this series over here. Too violent. Blood and guts and full-on decapitations!"

"Uh... is Boss alright with you playin' this?"

"He doesn't know. And he won't find out, am I clear?"

"Y-Yeah... sure..."

"Good. Then let's play!"

Futaba popped the disc into the system (she'd already installed and updated it before he arrived, of course) and handed Ryuji a controller as she sat beside him on her bed.

"You sure you know how ta play this? If it ain't released here, won't it be in, like, English or somethin'?"

"Yeah, but it'll be fine. Gameplay is a universal language, and tons of Japanese games use the same English words in their menus anyway. Just leave it to your trusty navigator to see you to the character selection screen!"

"Heh. Alright, Oracle, let's infiltrate this thing!"

"Roger, Skull! You can count on me!"

With only the slightest fumbling, Futaba managed to get the two onto the desired screen. After looking over this completely unfamiliar cast, Ryuji was the first to make his choice.

"Oh, I see you there, Ryuji. Picking the boss character to make up for your lack of skill."

"Wha-? How the hell was I s'pposed ta know he was a boss!? I just saw a big guy with a hammer and skull mask and thought, 'Cool, I'll take 'im.'"

"Well, he's certainly the only one you'll be 'taking' tonight, my noob friend. Speaking of which... I hope you like teleports. :3"

"Oh, that's how it is, huh? Bring it!"

ROUND 1! Fight!

"It has begun!"

"Already with the teleports!?"

"I did warn you!

"Yeah, but still..."

"Eat this!"

"No thanks! I already ate on the way here!"

"Huh? I didn't know his jab could counter a throw!"

"Can I offer you a nice helping of my dust?"

"D-Don't get cocky just yet! I have other specials!"

"Yeah? An' I got combos!"

"H-How!? Aren't you new to this?"

"Aw, yeah! Ultra combo!"

"Wrong franchise, Ryuji!"

...

"H...How? How did I lose?"

"Aw, yeah! Your shadow guy ain't no match for Skull's hammer!"

"J-Just you wait, you bonehead! As soon as I find the girl that sounds like me, you're finished!"

"Huh? What the heck're you talkin' about?"

"Never you mind, Ryuji. I demand a rematch!"

"It's only gonna go the way as before."

"Don't get overconfident just because you beat me once. With this next character, I-"

"Twice now I've been brought low, down onto my hands and knees like an anime character, by your skills. Games are my thing and it's been taken away from me."

"What are you, Mona?"

"F-Fight me in real life!"

"Yeah, that ain't happenin'. Even though you lost a couple a' times, you're still plenty good. It's your overconfidence and reliance on five moves that made you lose."

"I can't believe I'm being given advice by Ryuji, of all people."

"See what I mean when I say I've gotten worse from you guys?"

"Sorry."

"Nah. No biggie." Ryuji patted the space on the bed that Futaba's posterior had previously occupied and she returned to her seat, where she pulled her knees up to chest and wrapped her arms around them.

"You're cool, Ryuji."

"Not as cool as Ren, though, huh?"

"...I miss him."

"Yeah, can't imagine any of us don't. Guy really knows how ta leave an impression, y'know?"

"Mm-hm. But I don't feel lonely without him."

"Oh? Becuz he gave you the confidence ta do stuff on your own?"

"...Sure, that sounds good."

"You don't sound too sure..."

"Yeah, well I am sure. Now quit yapping and let's get back to playing!"

"What, you wanna lose again?"

"Gh! Can't... even... argue... N-No! Ren gave me confidence and I can assure you that I-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH! I LOST AGAAAAAAAAAAAAAIN! WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"W-Would you calm the F down! It's just a game."

"No! You're mean! Criminal! Fiend!"

"You know this hammerin' on my chest thing is cute more'n hurtful, right?"

"THAT'S THE POINT, STUPID RYUJI!"

"R-Right."

"..."

"Uh... Taba?"

"...I'm glad you didn't die."

"Uh, you too?"

"I mean, in Shido's Palace. Duh."

"Oh, uh, right. I'm glad you didn't die in yours. Or outside it."

"Huh. The two of us may have been the closest to real death out of everyone. Well, us and Ren. Akechi meant serious business back then."

"An' Ren only got outta that mess thanks ta all the work you did with that Metaverse fake room stuff."

"Mm-hm! Ain't I amazing? Praise me more!"

"It was definitely impressive. I still don't really get all a' how it worked. Guess I'm pretty dumb, huh?"

"Nah. It was a complex plan. Even when I was re-explaining it all to Ren, I was worried I'd make a mistake in the retelling, and I was the key figure in it all. Besides, knowing how it all worked wasn't your part. Yours was tricking the so-called 'genius Detective Prince 2.0' that you and Yusuke were retrieving the actual Treasure and not just a briefcase we brought with us. And you know what? You had that alleged genius completely fooled. You played your part flawlessly, Skull. Good job. You may have a headpat as a reward."

"Th-Thanks, Futaba. Heh, it really means a lot for you ta say that."

"Well, you and your contributions mean a lot to the team. And you and Ann were a big help in getting me to open up. Ren may have been the big ongoing helper, but you and Ann really got the ball rolling. Certainly moreso than socially-inept Makoto and evil genetic scientist Inari. You're pretty cool."

"Only when I wanna be, though, right?"

"W-Wha- H-How!? Are you an ESPer!?"

"You're really that predictable? Damn, Taba."

"Y-You- Fiend! Criminal! Skeleton-themed miscreant!"

"Again, the hitting thing don't hurt."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

These two have so much in common and yet the game likes to put Makoto into the role of another sibling figure for Futaba instead of the one who can relate to her interests better than anyone. And I really like the idea of Ryuji filling in for Ren in Futaba's life after he goes home.